McHenry County Muslim group finds home in Kane

The American Muslim Community Organization has not had a home in which to worship since it was formed three years ago, a situation that has left them renting prayer space and worshiping at home.

But those days could be numbered, as it appears they've found a home in Kane County.

Tuesday night, the Kane County Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved the McHenry County-based group's request to rezone a house in unincorporated Kane County on Huntley Road, a quarter of a mile west of Boyer Road, west of Carpentersville.

That would allow the group to convert the house into a mosque and to build a 750-square-foot addition. The plan now goes to the Kane County development committee and the Kane County Board.

The proposed floor plan includes separate prayer areas for men and women, three study rooms, a new porch and 24 parking spaces. Once completed, the prayer space could hold 79 people.

Although the number of proposed parking spaces complies with the county's minimum requirements, a pair of zoning board members said 24 spaces weren't enough.

“Twenty-four spaces is not going to do it,” board member Robert Moga said. “That's not going to work. Past experience.”

The Winchester Glen subdivision in Carpentersville lies just west of the proposed site. While village officials support the mosque, they attended Tuesday's hearing to make sure the interests of people living in that subdivision are protected.

Carpentersville had a list of more than a dozen concerns, including noise, lot coverage, privacy and stormwater requirements.

In a letter to Carpentersville Village Manager J. Mark Rooney, Mark Daniel, the attorney representing AMCO, addressed all their issues and said AMCO is complying with most of their demands but reserves the right to hold outdoor activities for fellowship.

“I don't want to exclude the idea of having a picnic outdoors,” Daniel said.

The mosque will be used for prayer, study and meetings. Weddings and funerals will not take place there, Daniel said. The building will maintain the appearance of a home, and there will not be a dome or minaret added. There will also be no outdoor calls for prayer.

Increased activity is expected around Ramadan and the “Eids,” Islam's high holidays.

But it's the increased activity on nearby Huntley Road that concerns at least two neighbors.

Randy Gaitsch lives across the street on the other side of Huntley Road and worries about additional traffic and whether the house's septics can handle more people.

“It's a house, and they're converting it into a church, and it's not quite right,” Gaitsch said.

Michael Lehnert is also opposed to the plan because once it's completed, he'll be staring into a parking lot instead of an open field.

AMCO is not taking their concerns lightly and is already planning to meet with neighbors, whose concerns are of the utmost importance, an official said.

“We hope ... to work with them and come to an understanding,” said Dr. Fazal Khan, AMCO's president.

Home: Group vows to work with neighbors